e. j. venter

Princess Alarie of Carthelia has lived her life in quiet obedience, praying to a goddess who has never answered her. Born with the gift to commune with Veyla, the divine voice of her realm, she has spent years desperately reaching into the silence, trying to prove her worth.

But when a creeping corruption known as the Hollowing begins to devour the realms, it is not Alarie Veyla chooses to speak to-it is her mother, the Queen. And with that single divine command, Alarie’s life is no longer her own. She is sent on a perilous quest across the realms to retrieve sacred relics said to hold the power to seal the Hollowing away once more.

She won’t go alone. At her side is Sael, her fiercely loyal serval companion, and Taren, a knight of Ishta bound to her by a blood oath forced upon him-one that will claim his life if hers is lost.

Their journey begins in the Wildwood, a living forest where gods still listen and outsiders are met with wary eyes. But within the trees, Alarie will uncover far more than a relic. She will face beasts, trials, and a destiny that no amount of prayer could have prepared her for.